Many students returned to their apartments after Hurricane Gustav to find their frozen pizzas thawed, containers of ice creamed melted and beer sitting at room temperature because of widespread power outages in Baton Rouge.Residents of 43 Louisiana parishes had the option of applying for the Disaster Food Stamp Program between Sept. 9 and Oct. 2. Fourteen parishes were deemed eligible to receive additional benefits because of Hurricane Ike.Figures released Monday from the Louisiana Department of Social Services indicate East Baton Rouge Parish residents received $22,225,533 in benefits from the program. The release said the benefits were granted to 68,116 households and 165,352 people in EBR Parish.There were 3,331 denials in EBR Parish, according to the release.”It’s intended to help people because of either power outage or flooding or wind damage,” said Cheryl Michelet, Department of Social Services director of communications. “It’s to replace the food that they lost.”Applicants were required to provide photo identification, proof of residence and proof of income, said Morris Patton, information agent for the Louisiana Disaster Food Stamp Program. Income statements were only required from Aug. 30 to Sept. 28, Patton said.Patton said those approved for the program immediately received an Electronic Benefit Transfer Card. He said the cards were activated within 72 hours and will remain active for three months.The amounts transferred to the EBT cards depended on the number of people living in the household receiving the benefits, Michelet said. Households with one resident received $162 in food stamps, while households with four people received a little more than $500.There were no provisions made specifically for students, Patton said. He said students were subjected to the same requirements as the other applicants and being granted benefits was primarily dependent on a “face-to-face interview.”Michelet said students within the income limit, without money in the bank and not residing with parents might have qualified for benefits.Many EBR Parish residents denied by the Disaster Food Stamp Program either exceeded the income limit or already received benefits from the regular Food Stamp Program, Michelet said.The EBT cards are approved by most grocery store chains and function similar to ATM cards, Michelet said.Reed Luthanen, Wal-Mart EBT product manager, said there were 2,500 EBT transactions between Sept. 26 and Oct. 3 at the Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market at Highland Road and Lee Drive.Mike Fultz, nutritional sciences senior, received about $150 in benefits from the Disaster Food Stamp Program. He said applying for the benefits took only about an hour, and activation took two days.”We’d [eaten] all the food and some of it went bad,” he said. “There was just no money coming in. If assistance is offered, I just went ahead and took advantage of it.”Crystal Grammer, communication disorders sophomore, said applying for benefits only took about 20 minutes. Grammer said she used some of her benefits to buy snacks but plans to use the remaining $100 to stock her freezer with meat.—-Contact Lindsey Meaux at [email protected]